Britain will not only have Andy Murray in a final at the Australian Open, after fifteen-year-old Katie Swan from Bristol battled back from a set down to defeat the Hungarian number five seed Dalma Galfi in the Junior Girls' singles semi-finals in Melbourne. After reaching the semi-finals she had said that she "belongs" at the tournament and she is clearly quickly learning what is required to win matches at the top level. She now looks to emulate Laura Robson by going one step further than she did and win the tournament.
After being 'bagelled' 6-0 in the first set by her close friend Galfi, the signs were looking ominous for the Kansas-based Swan, but she dug deep to take the second set on a tie-break.
Galfi is already sixteen and at that age being a few months older can make a big difference in terms of strength and power, but Swan seemed to find a way to cope with any perceived weakness on that front. With the set in the bag she pushed on to take the third set as well for an inspiring 0-6 7-6 7-5 victory. More remarkable still was the fact that she had to save three match points and overcome severe cramp before coming through for the success. She will now hope that her recovery goes well before the final, after an exhausting two hours and thirty-six minutes of play.
Only seeded fourteen for the event (with a world junior ranking of 31), her progress through the rounds as being nothing short of remarkable.
She has already toppled the seventeen-year-old number one seed Shilin Xu from China and eleventh-seeded American Raveena Kingsley. She now faces another sixteen-year-old Tereza Mihalikova from Slovakia in the final.
It is a marked improvement on her debut at last year's Wimbledon junior tournament, where she was one of the youngest players to make the draw and went out in the first round.
She has clearly learned from that experience and seems determined to make her mark on the junior ranks. Now based in the States after moving there two years ago, when her father's job required the change of address, she sports an American accent but firmly insists that she is British: "even though I don't sound it". She is also still with the Lawn Tennis Association in this country.
It would be a tremendous achievement if Swan takes the title, as it would surpass Robson's best Down Under, which were two runner-up placings (although she did take the Wimbledon junior crown). She would become the first Britain to take the title since 1984, when Annabel Croft achieved that distinction.
